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Cannabis protector rolling out transport division

DENVER—Securing the increasing number of legal marijuana growing sites and sales outlets in the U.S. poses a unique set of challenges, including transporting the product. Canna Security America is launching Cloverton Group to help deal with that.

Still in the process of obtaining full funding for a national rollout of the new division, Canna Security, which provides security to 350 facilities, will provide armed guards and transportation vehicles with bulletproof glass, CEO Dan Williams told Security Director News.

“The trend seems to be that facilities are getting larger to meet the demand of the public. Four years ago the standard growth facility was 5,000 square feet,” Williams said. Now some are 20,000 square feet.

Marijuana has been legalized for medical use in 19 states. Washington, D.C., Colorado and Washington state have legalized it for recreational use.

A load of cannabis being transported can be worth $100,000, Williams said.

Transporting the product to medical marijuana dispensaries and legal recreational-use stores is only part of the industry’s challenges, Williams said.

Watching out for product loss due to internal theft can be accomplished with cameras and specially designed worksites.

“The crop is easily pocketable,” he noted.

At one plant-trimming site he works with that employed outsourced trimmers, the procedure is to put everyone in a circle to get the job done. No backpacks, no chairs are allowed. Cameras record activity in the room.

Williams estimates that $2.9 million will be needed to get Cloverton fully off the ground.